Jaylin

by Brenda Hampton

  I quickly cut him off. “Stop this, okay? Travis would never do anything to hurt our kids and you know that. Besides, everything was fine, until you did what you did at my place that day.”

  “No disrespect, then again, why not, especially since you’re sounding like a damn fool. You’re the one who trust that idiot, not me. All I’m going to say to you is this. You’d better keep your eyes and ears open, just as you do your legs. If something like this happens again, and any of my children call me upset about some bullshit Travis said to them, I’m coming for you first. You first, Nokea, and I guarantee you that it won’t be pretty. Now, give my son back his phone so I can speak to somebody around there who got some fucking sense.”

  “Call him back in five minutes. I don’t take orders from you, and your insulting words won’t get any action from me.”

  I hit the end button then gave the phone to Justin who had been reaching for it. “Go take that to your brother,” I said as we exited the parlor together. “And let’s go see if our cookies are ready.”

  Justin ran in front of me. He handed LJ his phone, and when LJ looked at me, I reached out to rub his wavy hair that was sharply lined.

  “I’m sorry about what happened earlier,” I said, again. “I hope you know that I will never allow anyone to mistreat you. You could have told me how you felt, and I know Travis hurt your feelings when he yelled at you.”

  “I know you wouldn’t, but I just wanted to talk to my Dad.”

  “That’s fine too. Now, give me a hug and let’s find out who made the best cookies.”

  LJ and I gave each other a squeezing hug that put a smile on his face. I hoped this situation was put to rest, but deep down, it seriously left a bad taste in my mouth.

  It was getting late. The kids were exhausted, so they turned in early for bed. With it being dark outside, I was surprised that Travis and my father hadn’t made it back from the golf course yet. Nanny B and my mother were now in the kitchen. I asked if either of them had heard from my father or Travis.

  “No,” my mother said. “But knowing them, they probably went for a drink somewhere or decided to go watch a game at one of the restaurants around here.”

  Since Travis had mentioned staying away from here, that could have been the case. But when the doorbell rang nearly twenty minutes later, and we saw two police cars outside, my heart raced. We all went to the door, and after I opened it, I stood face-to-face with a police officer who wasn’t there to share good news.

  “I’m looking for Mrs. Gloria Brooks.”

  My mother nervously stepped forward with her hand pressed against her chest. “I’m Mrs. Brooks. Is everything okay?”

  “I’m afraid not, Ma’am. Your husband collapsed on the golf course earlier. He was rushed to the hospital. You need to go there immediately.”

  My mother’s face was like stone. Tears welled in both of our eyes. “Co . . . Collapsed,” she said, stuttering. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “We don’t know yet. But you need to get to the hospital soon.”

  I hurried off to go get my purse and car keys. Nanny B said she would stay with the kids, and the police assisted me in escorting my visibly trembling mother to the car. She was very fragile. Seemed so out of it, so I did my best to be strong for her. That all changed when we arrived at the hospital. From a distance, I saw Travis coming our way, walking in slow motion. The blank expression on his face told me this wasn’t going to be good. He opened his arms, and as I totally zoned out of it, all I heard was him whisper the words, “I’m sorry. I did my best to save him, but he died on the way here.”

  Hearing my mother’s cries, my legs weakened. I immediately crashed to the floor.

  JAYLIN

  Shane and I had just left my house and were about to head to his, when I saw a white man walking up my driveway with an unflattering brown suit on that was too big, a white dingy shirt and silver-framed glasses. Several papers were crumpled in his hand; he completely looked like a nerd. He straightened his glasses as he approached me and cleared his throat. Not only was I looking at him like he was crazy, but Shane was too.

  “Jaaaaaylin Rogers,” he said with a dragging voice.

  “Who wants to know?”

  “My name is Mr. Suuuummersville. I’m with the Division of Family Services.”

  Thick wrinkles appeared on my forehead. I hoped like hell that he wasn’t here to tell me no bullshit about Scorpio and her damn husband or Nokea and Travis.

  “Yes, I’m Jaylin Rogers. What’s the problem?”

  He started fumbling with the papers in his hands, trying to straighten them. “The problem is, sir, we received a phone call from one of your children, a Jaaaaylene Rogers, who said there were some serious problems here. Her complaints were about being starved and not being able to have sodas. She also mentioned that she’d been spanked.”

  I winced at the man while standing in disbelief. “Man, get the hell out of my driveway with that mess. My daughter didn’t call you with no bullshit like that, and I know damn well you didn’t come here to fuck with me over a soda.”

  He nodded and extended a piece of paper in my direction. I refused to take it. “I’m afraid she did call, sir, and per state orders, I’m going to have to go inside of your home and look around. Do you mind opening the door so I can go inside to speak to your kids?”

  My pressure was already up from the phone call from LJ. This man had definitely shown up at the wrong place, wrong time. “Hell yeah I mind! This is bullshit and you got one muthafucking minute to march your ass back down my driveway and get the hell out of here.”

  He didn’t move. “I . . . I can’t do that, sir. I’ll have to contact the police, if I’m not allowed to go inside.”

  “What?” Shane yelled. “This is crazy.”

  “You’re damn right it is, and you’re down to thirty seconds now, before shit turns ugly.”

  Shane snatched the paper from the man’s hand, and as the man attempted to move toward my door, I grabbed him from the back of his jacket. He crotched down and lifted his hand to cover his face. I started pulling him down the driveway, until Shane rushed after me, grabbing my arm.

  “Jay, I think you may want to look at this.”

  He reached out to give me the paper. I snatched it from his hand, and with a frown on my face, I looked at it. In big bold letters were: YOU’VE BEEN PUNKED!

  I looked at Shane and the man who were now laughing their asses off. I started laughing too, and then I snatched the blank papers from the man’s hands, hitting Shane with them.

  “You muthafuckas play too much,” I said.

  “I couldn’t resist,” Shane said, patting my back. “Yo ass was hot!”

  The man removed his glasses and swiped his hand across his forehead. “Real hot. I just knew I was about to get my ass kicked, before you had time to tell him the truth.”

  I agreed. “Yes, you were, especially when you mentioned going into my house. And then to lie on my baby Jaylene like that. Shane, you know better. I’mma get you back for this shit.”

  I hit him with the papers again, and we continued to laugh. He introduced me to the man who was actually there to see if we were interested in purchasing some property from him. We stood around talking, and when my cell phone rang, I stepped away to take the call because it was Nanny B. She told me Nokea’s father had been rushed to the hospital. According to her, it was serious. I cut my conversation short with Shane and Mr. Summersville, telling them that I needed to go to St. Louis right away.

  No sooner than I’d made it to the airport, Nanny B called back, telling me Mr. Brooks had died. I was stunned. All I could think about was Nokea, as well as her mother. I was sure my kids had taken the news pretty hard, too, but Nokea and her father were tight. I couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling right now. I also felt bad about my recent conversation with her. Kind of wished I hadn’t said some of the things I’d said—if only I could take them back. Nonetheless, I couldn’t allow her to deal with this
alone, so I took a private plane to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport that was close to my house in The Bluffs. Nanny B met me there, and from what she’d said, Nokea and her mother had taken the news real hard.

  “Gloria hasn’t gone home yet, because she says it’s too hard for her to go there,” Nanny B said. “She’s been talking to numerous church members and family. Nokea has been cooped up in the guestroom. I’ve been checking on her all day, and Travis is with her. The kids are okay, but LJ is taking it the hardest because he was the one closest to his grandfather. All we can do is pray, and do whatever we can to be there for them.”

  I agreed and I was going to do my best to keep my distance from Travis so nothing unfortunate popped off.

  “Was Mr. Brooks sick? Nokea kept mentioning that something was going on with him, but she never specified what it was.”

  “He was complaining about being tired all the time. He’d been having some migraine headaches, and Gloria said his blood pressure had been way too high. When he left with Travis to go play golf, he seemed fine. All week he’s been fine, and I’m so glad that the kids and Nokea came to St. Louis when they did.”

  My face displayed a frown. I hated death. This whole thing made me think about when my mother was killed, and when Nokea and I had found my father dead. I remembered how devastated I was. I was grateful to Nokea for being there for me, both times.

  Nanny B keyed in a code that opened the gates to my property. As she drove up the steep, curvy driveway, my stomach felt queasy inside. I didn’t have the right words to say to Nokea or her mother at a time like this. I wasn’t even sure if they wanted me here, especially since Mr. Brooks wasn’t always fond of me. We’d had our ups and downs over the years. Still, he knew how much I loved his daughter, and that was good enough for me.

  Nanny B parked in the garage, and as we entered the house through the front doors, I could see Nokea sitting on the couch in the great room. Her head rested on her arm while she gazed out of the curved picture windows. Much sunlight lit up the room, and as Nokea sat on one side, Travis sat by the fireplace in a chair on the other side. Nanny B shut the door behind us, causing Nokea to slowly turn her head. There was so much pain in her teary eyes; they were so contracted I figured she could barely see. Her tear-stained face looked swollen and her breathing became heavy. I took several steps forward, but by the time I reached the carpeted area that led to the great room, Nokea darted toward me, rushing into my arms. I was caught off guard by her reaction, and I staggered a bit from her tight hold on me. My embrace was just as tight. I secured her in my arms and didn’t let go.

  “He’s gone,” she cried out. I had to hold back my own emotions after seeing her like this. “What am I going to do, Jaylin? What am I going to do without my father?”

  She backed her head away from my chest, searching into my eyes for answers I didn’t have. Tears poured from her eyes; I couldn’t recall a time when I had ever seen her so broken. I cuffed her face with my hands, hoping that she wouldn’t collapse when I released her waist.

  “I’m so sorry, baby, deeply sorry. I’m going to help you get through this, for as long as it takes. Okay?”

  She nodded and continued to release staggering cries. I wrapped my arms around her again—this time, closing my eyes while holding her close to my chest. I swallowed a sizeable lump in my throat, and as Nokea’s body weakened in my arms, I held her up while transitioning her over to the couch.

  “Go get her some water,” I said to Nanny B. “Please.”

  Nokea’s mother entered the room with sadness written all over her face. She sat next to Nokea who leaned on me for comfort.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Gloria. “And if there is anything—”

  “I already know, Jaylin,” she said. “Once we get through these next few days, we’ll be fine. Just pray for God to give me and my child all the strength we need right now. This is horrible—I just don’t understand.”

  She rubbed Nokea’s back to help calm her. And slowly but surely, her mother’s rub and my embrace helped to put her at ease. I was so out of it that I barely had time to look at Travis. When I did, he sat with his eyes closed, hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other. His foot tapped the floor; he appeared zoned out as well.

  Nokea slowly sat up and reached for the glass of water Nanny B had given to her. My shirt was wet from her tears, but I surely didn’t mind. I watched as she drank the water, appearing to be in a daze.

  “Where are the kids?” I asked Nanny B.

  “They’re downstairs. Before I left to pick you up, I told them to go bowl for a while or go to the game room and play.”

  I wanted to make sure they were okay, so I stood and looked at Nokea. “I need to go check on the kids, but can I get you anything? Have you eaten or would you like to—”

  “No, I don’t want anything. I just want my father to be alive. That’s all I want is him.”

  I was getting ready to sit back down, but Nanny B told me to go see about the kids. She sat next to Nokea, telling her that everything would be okay. I was sure it would be, too, but there was no doubt in my mind that these next few days would be difficult for all of us.

  Around ten o’clock that night, the kids were all settled in bed. They seemed to be okay, and were handling this situation much better than I thought they would. Nanny B had fallen asleep on the sun porch. I tried to wake her so she could go to her room, but she insisted she was perfectly fine where she was at. Gloria was in one of the guestrooms, as was Nokea who had gone to the room around seven. Travis went back to the hotel, and in an effort to keep the peace, I didn’t say one word to him. I wasn’t sure what kind of support he had offered Nokea. If you asked me, he seemed real bitter about something. It was the wrong time to catch an attitude about anything, but Nokea was the one who had to deal with his shit, not me.

  Feeling tired, I hit up a quick shower and changed into a pair of beige silk pajama pants. I chilled on a chaise in my bedroom, watching TV for a while. I didn’t have much time to continue my conversation with Shane earlier, so I reached for my cell phone to call him. He mentioned that he and Tiffanie were in bed, so I didn’t want to keep him long.

  “We’re just trying to keep the fire burning, and you know we’re working on another little one,” he said. “But before I go, how’s Nokea doing?”

  “Not well. Her father passed away, before I arrived.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. Please offer her my condolences. You too. I know how you felt about Mr. Brooks.”

  “I’m fine. Nokea not so much, but she’ll get through this. I just hate to see her like this. There’s nothing that I can really say or do to help take away the pain she’s feeling right now. To some extent, I feel helpless.”

  “All she needs is support. Your support, and when you speak to her, get her to cheer up. Talk to her about the good times between her and her father. Make her reflect on those memories. If anybody knows about some of those good times, I’m sure it’s you.”

  I nodded and thought about some of my past experiences with Nokea and her father. Most of it was laughable, some of it not so much. Nonetheless, I understood exactly what Shane was saying. We ended the call, after he said he would be in St. Louis tomorrow.

  I sat quietly for a while, thinking more about Nokea’s father. He was a good man, and it was such a shame that his life ended so abruptly. Things like this always made me think . . . what if it was me? What would happen to my kids and how would they make it without me? Financially, I had definitely prepared for that, but I quickly shook the thoughts from my head. I dimmed the recess lighting, tossed back a shot of Remy, and then I went to the guestroom where Nokea was. When I opened the door, she was lying sideways in bed with her clothes still on. She lifted her head from the pillow to look at me.

  “I just came to check on you,” I said. “Why don’t you get out of your clothes, take a bubble bath and get comfortable?”

  “I will,” she said softly. “Just not now. Rig
ht now, I prefer to lay here in thought.”

  With the exception of one lamp on, the room was somewhat dark. I turned on another lamp, before getting in bed, facing her. Her eyes were barely open and small bags were underneath them. A handful of tissue was gathered in her hand and the pillow she laid her head on was soaked from her tears. I touched her pretty face, softly rubbing her cheekbone with my thumb.

  “As I was lying in the other room,” I said. “I was in deep thought myself, thinking about the kind of man your father was. He was . . . nice.”

  “Yeah, you’re saying that now, but I remember you always talking about how mean he was.”

  I had to chuckle; she was right.

  “He had a mean side for sure. So do I, so in no way can I be critical of him. I was thinking about when we were kids. Do you remember how everybody in the neighborhood used to run up on y’all porch to get money, when the ice cream trucks came? He kept a lot of change in his pockets, but for some reason, by the time I reached him, he would always say he didn’t have anymore. My feelings were crushed, and then he would smile and tell me I’d better not cry over no ice cream. He then dug deep into his pockets, and somehow the change would appear. I got my ice cream, and I always shared it with you.”

  Nokea smiled. “Yeah, you got your ice cream, but I got in trouble for always being around you. That’s why he didn’t want you to have any ice cream, because he knew you would use it to get on my good side. I never knew why he wouldn’t give me the money so I could buy my own ice cream. That would have made more sense, and I never would have followed you around as much as I did.”

  “Maybe he wanted us to share, who knows? And you didn’t follow me for my ice cream. You followed me because I was fine and you knew I would grow up to be somebody real special one day.”